Essential Information

If you have not taken an Intensive before, you should read through this information before booking. It answers various questions about the process such as what it is like to participate and whether it is right for you.

 

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How does the process work?

"A space for you to truly be yourself and open up. A space where constant curiosity and openness open up doors you never knew existed. You go in with one question and leave with many answers you were not even looking for."
(EI participant 2018)

Many ingredients combine to make the process work:

• A contemplation technique using self-enquiry
• Regular communication exercises
• An intensive daily schedule combined with set of rules to ensure safety and immersion in the process

Contemplation technique

Right at the start of the retreat, you are taught a contemplation technique. There are also helpful tips and reminders throughout the retreat. 

The actual contemplation technique is one of self-enquiry using the simple question: 

"Who am I?"

(For more experienced participants, the question may be What am I?, What is life?, or What is another?)

You will be contemplating this one question virtually every waking moment for three days. This is part of what makes the process so intense and immersive. 

 

This provides a powerful foundation of safety within the group which promotes ever increasing mutual trust. 

The process of sharing your inner journey — and listening to others share theirs — continually brings you into the present. It immerses you in the moment-by-moment awareness of your own experiences, but without letting you get lost in thoughts and feelings.

It is this special combination of focus and openness, of looking ever deeper into oneself and having ever deeper contact with others, that is responsible for the speed and intensity of the process.

Rules and schedule

The schedule keeps you focused on your quest for truth for about sixteen hours a day, barring the odd break and rest period. 

To ensure that each participant is free to seek and express their own truth in safety, the Intensive has a set of rules. For instance, participants may not comment on any each in any way. And to help all participants focus on their contemplation with minimal distraction, other rules include:

• No smoking, alcohol, coffee or other drugs. 
• No phone, TV, radio, books, etc.
• No conversations or physical interactions with other paticipants.  

The rules are maintained throughout the intensive process, then gradually relaxed during a post-intensive integration morning.  

Self-discovery

There are lectures to guide and inspire, but there are no teachings, no philosophy, no religion. There are no discussions about what "the right answer" is, or might be.

Rather, it is purely about you finding out for yourself, through your own experience of being, here and now.

This is one of the hallmarks of Enlightenment Intensives. They are purely about self-discovery, and therein lies their beauty.

"Using the technique over and over through the weekend, I was able to cross through my self-dislike and self-admonishment, and brush up against utter beauty. The utter beauty of myself, just the way I am. And the utter beauty of the absolute truth and its transformative power. Those sound like grand words but the exquisite, extraordinary delight I felt at those moments will change my life."

— Emma

What is it like to participate?

Although this process can work many times faster than traditional enlightenment methods, it is not exactly a short-cut. Each person's ego, personality, and unconscious are still in the way. The key is to be willing to be conscious of them in a spirit of truth, and communicate about them in a spirit of honesty.

All genuine pursuit of greater spiritual awareness involves surrendering to reality — and, in the process, discovering one's personal resistance to that. Enlightenment Intensives simply accelerate this discovery. They encapsulate the grace and the grit of true seeking and true finding.

Canadian writer Oriah Mountain Dreamer has described her own experience of participating on an Enlightenment Intensive:

"As a student and teacher of spiritual practices for many years, I began by giving what I thought were pretty insightful, lucid, erudite answers. Then I moved through a vast range of responses: boredom, annoyance and irritation, ... the desire to entertain, trying to reach for profound insight (usually followed by increased boredom and irritation). Finally I simply had to give up wanting to look or sound like anything in particular. Eventually I just didn't care anymore whether or not I was sounding profound or stupid, attentive or bored, polite or rude. All the ideas I have about who I am, all the stories I tell myself, had been told, and they all rang pretty hollow. ... Then, out of the absence of expectation that repetition had created, something else began to happen — a new freedom, a real and deeper willingness to start from the place of not knowing who I was, of being genuinely curious, of wondering right along with the questioner, Who is this being sitting here? ..." – Oriah Mountain Dreamer (What We Ache For – HarperCollins, 2005)

This is very common. If you give yourself whole-heartedly to the process it will challenge you. Your basic assumptions and attitudes about yourself, life, reality and others are likely to come to the surface.

The process of sharing your inner journey with other participants lends a tremendous amount of support and encouragement to keep going. Many also find that facing their own inner challenges on an Intensive strengthens their ability to face them in everyday life. 

The closeness and camaraderie which develops within the group is one of the striking features of an Enlightenment Intensive. It gives you incredible openness and freedom to safely explore and express your innermost truth without fearing what others might think or say about it.

In fact, the uninhibited expression of one's own truth to a receptive individual is what most deepens the direct experience of it.

What happens on a typical day?

The Intensive has a full daily schedule, from early morning to late evening (with an afternoon rest period). Your time is generally spent alternating between the communication exercises and periods of silent contemplation.

There are walking periods, meals, a working period and a rest period. These periods are silent, other than if you are asking for information or guidance from the staff.

"I found myself, like everybody else, going through all manner of stuff during the three days—anxiety, amusement, boredom, frustration, happiness, grief. On the first day I was mostly affected by the orderliness of the situation—the lack of everyday distractions, like TV." – Barry – My First Intensive.

The schedule is designed to build up a focus of attention and energy on contemplating your question.

There are three main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) plus two light snacks and some herbal/fruit tea. The food is light, nutritious and vegetarian. 

If you want to read something that will give you an idea of what the three days are like, you can read 

• Tell Me Who You Are , a semi-fictional account by Jake Chapman
• My first Enlightenment Intensive, a personal account by Barry McGuinness 

What happens afterwards?

By the end of a typical Intensive, a proportion of the group will have had an enlightenment experience. But just taking part in an Enlightenment Intensive in itself produces a wealth of insights, awareness and new perspectives on you and your life. This is so, irrespective of whether you have an enlightenment experience or not.

The communication element of an Enlightenment Intensive ensures that the process is very grounded. This means that much of the progress made in terms of insights and breakthroughs can be carried over into your everyday life.

The final morning after the third day of an Intensive is designed to enhance this process. Our Enlightenment Intensives finish with a period of integration work which is designed to enable you to take whatever you have learned and experienced during the Intensive into your everyday life. The schedule becomes lighter and the focus turns specifically to making use of your insights and new perspectives. There is time to reflect on your journey and any changes you may want to make in your life.

The benefits of taking an Enlightenment Intensive are not limited to what occurs during the actual process. Most people find that during the week after the Intensive more insights are gained and it becomes clearer how to make further progress in one’s life. For this reason we advise you to allow one whole day of rest after the Intensive. It can be a mistake to rush back into a hectic lifestyle. 

We are also available for individual follow-up support if needed after an Intensive, and we can give advice on how to live "from truth".

We do not, however, offer any long-term support program. Enlightenment Intensves are not linked to any organisation, movement, tradition or path. They are stand-alone events.

That said, for anyone who seriously wants to develop themselves on an ongoing basis using this process, we recommend becoming a member of EI staff. Cooking, monitoring and mastering Intensives are all wonderful (and highly intensive!) ways to develop oneself while serving ohers in the name of truth. 

What difference does it make in life?

A Chinese zen master (Zongmi, AD 780–841) once explained the difference between sudden enlightenment and becoming fully enlightened. "Awakening to truth is sudden," he said. "Transforming yourself into a saint is gradual. It is like when the sun comes out all of a sudden, but the frost melts only gradually."

Indeed, a single enlightenment experience will not turn you overnight into a perfect saint or an all-knowing sage.

Nor is it a magic bullet to solve all your outer life problems and guarantee eternal happiness. 

Nothing in reality changes with enlightrenment. All that changes is your knowing and understanding of reality. What you discover is reality as it always is, and as it already was; you just didn’t know it before.

But the effects of this, described by many people, are often life-changing.

Because each person's journey is unique, we cannot tell you exactly how a direct experience of Truth could affect your life. We simply hope to inspire you with the very real possibility of discovering what enlightenment could mean for you.

The difference it makes, ultimately, is entirely up to you.

Where are Enlightenment Intensives held?

Enlightenment Intensives are held in several countries all around the world. (For a worldwide listing of forthcoming dates, see Thomas Tiller's EI website.)

Our own Enlightenment Intensives are held on the outskirts of Bath, South-West England. The location is easily accessible by public transport. 

The venue is a large, modern, comfortable, house. Accommodation is in shared rooms with beds.

The contemplation-communicaion exerises, along with lectures and silent sitting periods, all take place in the group room. There are plenty of floor cushions and a variety of chairs available to help you sit comfortably.

The house is just a few minutes' walk from countryside and farmland owned by the UK National Trust. The area is ideal for the twice-daily outdoor contemplative walks.

Bath itself is a small, beautiful city in the South West of England, renowned for its natural hot spa waters, Roman baths and Georgian crescents. Bath is easily accessed by train from London. The nearest airports are Bristol International and London Heathrow. 

Who runs the Enlightenment Intensives in Bath?

Barry & EmmaAll our Intensives in Bath are led by one of us, Emma or Barry.  You can read about us here.

We both trained to run Enlightenment Intensives in 1992 and have the knowledge and skills needed to help you in your efforts to seek, experience and integrate a direct experience of Truth on an EI.

Note that the leader's role is traditionally called master — not as in master/slave or master/student, but as we see it more like the "master of the ship". We provide information, instruction, support and encouragement, both to the group as a whole and to individuals. We consider it a privilege to support people in their quest for Truth.

We normally have one or two other staff, known as monitors, who help organise the environment and supervise the dyad exercises, plus a cook. The support staff are usually people who have taken Intensives themselves and as a result want to serve others on this journey. All the staff will give of their best in supporting you.

Is it right for me?

Being on an Enlightenment Intensive can be personally challenging at different levels and the decision to take one should not be made lightly.

For many, an Enlightenment Intensive has been exactly the right thing at the right time. They may not feel like that during much of the Intensive! But usually there is a point in the process at which most participants are ready, willing and able to —

• let go of any fixed ideas, 
• let go of presenting an image,
• drop any personal agenda,
• just do the technque again and again,
• pay real attention to their partners,
• surrender to reality come what may.

It often takes newcomers two or three days to reach that point.

We do, however, recognise that Enlightenment Intensives are not for everybody. Some people are simply not ready, or not willing, or not able, to reach that point of surrender.

Because EIs are indeed challenging, part of our duty of care is to dissuade those who are clearly not suitable.

This is simply not the case.

How can I book onto an Enlightement Intensive?

• To find out when Enlightenment Intensives are running in Bath, see our Dates page.
• To book onto one of our Enlightenment Intensives, complete the online Registration Form. Then pay a deposit (non-refundable) either using the simple online Payment link or - if you prefer - by sending a cheque to the address given on registration. This deposit will be deducted from the full fee; the remainder is to be paid on arrival at the Intensive. 

How can I best prepare for an Intensive?

There are things that you can do in preparation for an Enlightenment Intensive.

The first is to take steps to ensure that you arrive relatively fit and healthy and well rested. Contemplating and communicating for around 16 hours a day is arduous and you will find it an advantage to be physically prepared.

If you normally smoke, or take a lot of caffeine or alcohol, or do other drugs, you should wean yourself off prior to coming to the Intensive. Try to have a couple of days clean beforehand. In this way you will avoid the discomfort of sudden withdrawal during the Intensive itself (e.g., sudden coffee withdrawal tends to induce a 24-hour headache).

You can also prepare by starting to contemplate your question. If you have not taken an Intensive before, it will be “Who am I?”

But the most important preparation you can do is to make an unbending commitment to seek your truth, no matter what it takes or where it takes you.

• We are always happy to talk to people considering taking an Enlightenment Intensive, so do feel free to contact us.